The present invention generally relates to the initiation of propellants in artillery shells, and, more specifically, relates to the use of laser light generated with explosives to initiate these propellants.
Conventional artillery shells have a propellent powder for accelerating the projectile. Currently, the propellant is initiated by a percussion primer and flame tube. This method of initiation produces high peak pressures inside the shell cartridge, and a shock wave which travels within the cartridge. This shock wave is responsible for increasing the peak pressures to which the cartridge and gun barrel are subjected, pressures which are well beyond the value required to produce the desired muzzle velocity.
If these peak pressures can be avoided, several advantages can be realized. For one, the cartridge and gun barrel, which are currently designed to withstand higher than required peak pressures, would be reduced in mass and/or strength, with the concomitant decrease in weight. For another, the use of initiators which do not produce these high peak pressures in an existing weapon, results in improvement in the range and precision of the round.
Recent work has indicated that conventional propellants can be initiated by laser light. Laser light at various wavelengths and fluences has proven capable of uniformly initiating propellants, a tremendous improvement over the conventional method.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for initiating the propellant in an artillery shell which does not produce high peak pressures or shock waves.
It is another object of the present invention to initiate the propellant in artillery shells using laser light.
It is a feature of the present invention that artillery shell cartridges and gun barrels can be made lighter.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.